Mi Hamba Blog

Do you journal everyday?  It is an important part of your personal growth journey as well as a great tool to help you reach your goals.According to research done on the subject at Harvard University, those who journal regularly have 50% less doctors visits than those who do not. 

It has also been discovered that if one has gone through a stressful or unhappy experience, journaling about it can decrease their stress levels.  Upon first writing and recalling the event, the stress levels will go up, but then they go down to an even lower level then they were prior to writing about the experience.

So we know that journaling is a good thing, but how does one begin?  For those who have never written in a diary or journal before, it may seem like a difficult task.  What do you write about?  The good news is there are no rules or regulations with journaling.  You can write whatever comes to mind.  If nothing comes to mind, write about how nothing comes to mind, or why nothing is coming to mind.

If you simply just begin to make journaling part of your daily routine, it will soon become a habit.  Like every other habit, it will get easier and easier.  Soon the writing will just flow.  You will be amazed at how simple it is, and how much better you feel.  Your journal will soon become your best friend, you won’t want to miss a single day of writing.

You feel it creeping up on you like a bad dream. With one small thought, it starts in the pit of your stomach as a flutter and quickly builds momentum to debilitating fear.  You can’t move.  You can’t breathe.  You’re caught in a trap, held hostage from your life …

Why do we worry?  Why do we spend so much time thinking about the worst possible outcome of a situation, only to realize that our fears were completely unfounded?  Why do we entertain those cursed “what ifs”?

- What if I get into a car accident?
- What if I lose my job?
- What if I lose my house?
- What if I get sick and can’t pay the bills?
- What if my husband/wife leaves me?
- What if I fail?

Less than 5% of what we worry about are things that we have control over.  We certainly have no control over the “what ifs”.  How could we - they haven’t happened yet!

Since we can choose to think and believe anything we want, why not choose to believe a “what if” outcome that makes you happy instead of worried?  If this is a new concept to you, empower yourself by learning more about how your thoughts become things.  There are many law of attraction, self-help and personal growth books that can help you form a new positive thinking habit.
 

It is time for our seventh and final tip on how to use stress to further your personal growth.  This tip can be summed up with one simple word — Gratitude.

If you have not already read my previous six tips on this subject, go back and read them now; doing so will help you to understand why I suggest that you should be grateful for the stress in your life. 

Stress is the way our body and/or our mind lets us know that there is a problem that needs to be dealt with.  If you did not experience a certain amount of stress in your life, it could be devastating to your physical and mental health.

Be grateful that your body and mind provide this wonderful warning signal so that you can make the necessary adjustments in your life.   If you didn’t know something was wrong, you would not be able to fix it.  Stress gives you that opportunity to find what isn’t working in your life and frees you to make the changes necessary to live a more fulfilling and joyous life.  Why be stuck in a miserable existence when you can instead be happy and free?

I hope that you have enjoyed this series of tips on stress management.  Remember, heed the warnings of stress.  Use it to motivate yourself to identify the problem and fix it.  If you simply just need a break, take it.  Live in the present, face your fears today, don’t waste time worrying about tomorrow.  Be grateful for the stress in your life, as it guides you to make the positive changes that allow you to live a happier life.

There are those who make things happen; those who watch things happen; and those who don’t know what the heck happened.
~Unknown

What kind of person are you?  And why should it matter? Because your happiness and success in life will be determined by what kind of person you are.

Those who make things happen

These are the people that know what they want, have a clear vision of the outcome, and take consistent action to make it happen.  That doesn’t mean that they don’t feel fear.  They do - but they take action anyway.  That’s why these people always seem to get what they want.  Contrary to popular belief though, success isn’t handed to them; they work for it!  You know these people just by being in their presence.  It’s who they’ve become on the journey, not what they’ve achieved that makes them stand out in the crowd.

Those who watch things happen

This is where the majority of our population resides.  It’s easier to watch the “doers’ get things done than put ourselves out there and risk failing, being scrutinized, having people point out our misfortunes.  These people are just one small step from living their greatness.  If only they could dare to dream again and move past their fear.

Those who don’t know what the heck happened

Yes, believe it or not, the result of living as one who just watches things happen, ends up wondering what the heck happened.  At the end of your life (which you can’t predict), what will you be thinking about?  Regrets, regrets and more regrets.  What didn’t you dare to do?  What opportunities did you pass up because of your fear?  What life didn’t you live?

There’s good news here.  You have a choice.  You can choose to be the type of person you want to be.  It’s that simple.  I didn’t say easy - just simple.  It will take work but think about the rewards.  Choose to take that first step towards your dream.  You’ll be amazed at how much easier it becomes - step by step by step by step.  You’re creating a new habit that will replace the old habit of watching things happen from the sidelines.  Before you know it you’re living your dream and working on the next one.  Now doesn’t that sound like a happier way to live?!  You are now the person you wanted to be.
 

Tip Number three on how to use stress as a personal growth tool is to recognize it as an indicator that it is time for a break. 

It always amazes me with the advent of all of these new technologies that are supposed to make our lives easier, that we continue to get busier and busier.  Have you ever considered the possibility that while your blackberry is convenient and a great multi-tasking tool, it may actually be increasing your level of stress?

We are checking email while dropping the kids off at soccer practice and returning phone calls while making dinner.  What happened to the ‘Me’ time? 

We spend so much of our lives worrying about everyone else, that we tend to forget about ourselves.  The problem with that, is if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to take care of anyone else.    

When you start to feel overwhelmed, overworked, and under-appreciated it is probably time for a break.  You body and your mind are telling you something, they can’t take it anymore.  It is time to start looking after number one. 

Go for a nice relaxing walk with the dog, plan a romantic weekend away just the two of you, or have a nice hot bubble bath by candle light.  Whatever works for you, do it.  But whatever you do, the most important thing to remember is — Turn the Cell Phone off!!

Tip number two on how to use stress as a personal growth tool, is to allow stress to motivate you to make a positive change in your life.  Nobody likes feeling stressed out, so why not use those feelings as motivation to remove them from your life. 

In many cases it is these negative feelings that are the most powerful motivators for change.  We should all be able to live in a happy and relaxed state of mind.  When stress starts to rule your life, know that you deserve to feel better. 

The important thing to remember is that you must get to the root cause of the stress in order to eliminate it.  If you don’t know what is wrong, how are you going to be able to fix it?  If you just simply need a break then  go for a walk, or meditate, or listen to a nice piece of music.  Hiding behind things such as overeating, smoking, taking drugs or alcohol is just going to make matters worse in the long run. 

Remember prolonged stress can be a contributing factor to depression, anxiety and many health concerns.   Do not accept it as part of your everyday life.  Know that you deserve better.  Your life coach may be able to help you identify where the problem lies, and to help you get back on the right track.

We all experience stress in our lives at all times.  The levels and types of stress can be good and bad.  We can learn how to use stress in a positive way.  One effective way to do this is to recognize stress as the warning signal that it is.

When your stress level becomes noticeably heightened, it is time to identify what is really causing it.  You must recognize that either your body or your mind is trying to tell you that something in your life needs attention.

If the problem is not readily apparent, you can start to find it by making an appointment for a check up with your Doctor.  If there is a disease or malfunction of some form or type within your body, stress is the body’s way of letting you know it has a problem that needs attention.

Once you eliminate any health concerns, you can then continue to review each of the other areas of your life; financial/wealth, career/business, relationships, free time/fun.  With careful analysis, you will discover a problem in one or a combination of those areas.

Remember stress is a warning signal; use it to figure out the problem area in your life.  In order to fix the problem, you have to first know what the problem is. 

This is the first of seven tips on how to use stress as a personal growth tool.  Stay tuned for my next post which will introduce tip number two.

We are here, living our lives, to create, not react.  Everyone, regardless of race, color, religion, age, sex - we’re all creating.  The truth is, we’re creating all the time.  The big question is, are you doing it consciously, or unconsciously?

Conscious creation is where we want our focus to be.  That means that we get clear on what we want (our goals), take focused action towards those goals, and stop thinking negative thoughts about why we can’t be, do or have what we want.

The alternative is to react to situations in our life.  We are unconsciously creating these unwanted situations by the negative thoughts we have.  By not focusing our attention on what we want, the law of attraction brings to us those negative things that we worry about.  Minimize having to react to situations and start focusing on the positive things in your life. You know, the things you’re grateful for.

Knowing now that you call the shots, make the choice right now to create what you truly want in your life.  Stop moping and take charge of your life!  Make it happen!  Everything you need is already inside of you.  Paint your own picture.

How do you live your life?  Do outside circumstances determine how you feel inside?  It is so easy to get caught up in reaction mode.  You simply respond to every negative or positive person or situation with an equally negative or positve feeling.  By doing this on a consistent basis, you are giving up control over your feelings and therefore your life.  It doesn’t have to be that way. 

You can decide to live life from the inside out.  The way you feel each and every minute is up to you.  Let’s explore this further with an example.

If you are driving down the road and another driver cuts you off, you have two choices.  You can decide to get angry and express your anger with some colorful words and a flip of your finger.  This option will in turn cause you to possibly drive more aggressively yourself and therefore become a danger to yourself and others on the road.  The second option you have is to respond with a feeling of gratitude.  Yes, you got cut off, but you are so fortunate that the other driver did not hit you.  

Remember the law of attraction brings back to you whatever you give your attention, energy and focus to whether positive or negative.  By being in control of your feelings, you are enabling yourself to live a more positive life.

If you have watched the movie “The Secret” or you are familiar with the law of attraction, then you know that the universe responds to your feelings and gives you more of the same.  This is good news for you, as it is alot easier to control your feelings than it is to control your thoughts. 

It may seem difficult sometimes to have positive feelings when outside circumstances, situations, and even other people around you are not exactly very positive.   You may find yourself saying to a loved one “You make me really angry when you do that”.  The reality is that you alone control your feelings, another person does not make you feel anything.  You decide at every given moment how you are going to feel, inspite of what is going on in your life.

The first step in taking control of your feelings is simply knowing that you have that control, just be conscious of it.  You will then begin to notice the next time you are having negative feelings, and be aware that you need to turn those feelings upside down. 

Removing yourself from the negativity around you is imperative to a positive mental attitude.  If you are unable to physically remove yourself, take a few moments to remove yourself emotionally.  You can use this time to go within, quiet your mind and find your inner peace.  Think of all the positive abundance in your life and how truly blessed you are.  You will soon start to notice the shift in your feelings from negative to positive.